Day 22 Postpartum. Feed and Grow.

Well, a few changes with Vinnie's condition since our last entry. After being told that he had an infection (possibly pneumonia) and being put on a course of antibiotics, we were then told a couple days later that this was not the case and his high oxygen was due to Chronic Lung Disease. We were told Vinnie had this early on but had presumed he had grown out of it... apparently not. His little lungs are quite weak for some reason (not normal for a baby of his birth weight and gestation) and there is a lot of scar tissue from being on the ventilator his first week.

Cam and I met with the consultant on Friday to get a better understanding of what all this means and treatment options / long term prognosis (as much as they can say at this point). It seems as though some preterm babies just require a bit more assistance with their breathing than others and our little Vinnie is one of them. We were told that a post natal course of steroids might be required as well as some more time on the ventilator if his O2 continued to climb above 60%. Neither options are considered lightly as with all things there always seems to be possible side effects. Increased risk of Cerebral Palsy with the steroids and perhaps further lung damage with the ventilator.

It is quite likely that Vinnie will be sent home on oxygen as well and he might need to stay on it for 3-6 months. He will also need a period of isolation during this time... sorry for all those wanting to meet him... might be some time before this happens. We have also been told to get ourselves dosed up with the flu vaccine as if our wee man catches any bugs once he gets out he is going to land himself back in intensive care. So, if anyone gets sick in the coming months please stay away from Cam and I!!! I can just see the two of us walking around with face masks on all wacko like!

His O2 was climbing as high as 75% yesterday so the consultant made the decision to put him on a 10 day course of steroids to help with lung development. Although his oxygen needs are high he seems to be very stable in all other areas and still continuing to gain weight steadily. Yesterday we didn't get him out for cuddles and let him get some rest as he was a little unsettled.

This morning Cam and I spent some time with Vinnie and I am happy to report he is doing much better. His oxygen was back down to 33% when we arrived this morning and only climbed as high as 45% when we got him out for a cuddle. We also weighed Vinnie today and he is now up to 1720g - almost a 400g increase on his birth weight so doing really well. Hopefully he'll be able to come out of the incubator soon as he is almost big enough to be regulating his body temperature himself.

Other than hospital visits, Cam and I have been spending the last few days catching up with friends visiting from Brisbane (Amy and Wes) with their little girl Violet (4 1/2 months). Jo and Adam are also home from London with their little girl Freya (6 weeks). Amazing how quickly these little ones have grown in the past weeks/months... I am sure Vinnie will catch up to his girlfriends in no time :-)